Hollow Princess
by Kaylessa
Summary: When a Hollow consumes a human soul, that soul then becomes a Hollow. What kind of Hollow would sweet, innocent Orihime make? It's a nightmare that Ichigo and his friends get to find out. No pairings, incomplete.
1. Chapter 1

Disclaimer: I do not own Bleach! As it is, this fic is kinda...years old. I had it on my deviantart account, but just randomly decided to add it here. I'm quite happy to let Kubo Tite keep Bleach (so long as he'll eventually FINISH it) so please don't sue me...

.oOo._  
_

_Imagine, if you will, that the fight with Inoue Sora had never been resolved and the Hollow known as Acid Wire was still out there, hungering to have his sister back..._

_Ichigo and his friends have finally returned from their mission to save Rukia, but the universe has it in for them and won't let them rest even a day. _

.oOo._  
_

Ichigo flopped onto his bed, for once not feeling bad about Kon being stuck in just that pill. That _silent_pill. He needed the peace and-

The phone rang downstairs. He sighed. Well, life as usual. But someone else would get it. Right now, he was just glad to be home, with familiar sights, smells and familiar-

_-dread._

That feeling that something, _somewhere _had just gone horribly, inexplicably wrong. He was sure that if Rukia were there, her cell phone would be going crazy.

Ichigo immediately sat up in bed, staring intently out the window for a brief moment before looking into himself, trying once more to search for reiatsu, like he should be able to. But he was always so terrible at that. It took his concentration and even still it was shaky.

"Ichi-nii!" Karin called from downstairs. "Phone for you!"

"Tell them to call back!" he shouted, frustrated. This wasn't easy for him! "I'm busy!" Again he searched, reaching out with his own huge, unmanageable power to find whatever it was that was wrong; needed his help.

"Ichi-nii!" Karin called again, but before Ichigo could come up with another angry reply, she continued, "He says his name is Ishida Uryuu and it's important! D'you still want him to call you back later?"

Ichigo's eyes snapped open, and then he was bounding out the door and down the stairs, thinking at the same time, _Ishida! He'd know what's going on!_

He made it to the kitchen phone in record time, startling Karin when he snatched the phone out of her hand when he skidded past, socked feet on kitchen tile. But he managed to stay standing while answering the phone.

"Ishida! What's-"

"Kurosaki! It's Inoue-san! Get to her house now!" Ishida's voice barked over the phone. Then the phone went dead without even waiting for a reply. But Ichigo didn't much care.

Shoving aside that negative little thought about why he and his friends couldn't ever catch a break, Ichigo made a dash back up the stairs, taking them three at a time until he was in his room again. At first he made a grab for his shinigami badge, but the barest second's thought made him pause.

_Karin will expect me to do something after that ruckus downstairs. I can't just leave my body up here like I fell asleep._

Spinning around, Ichigo made a grab for Kon's little pill and popped it into his mouth without even wiping it off. Soon as his soul and body were separated, he grabbed Kon by his shoulders and spun him around so they were face-to-face. By now, Kon could certainly tell the difference between Ichigo's everyday scowl and his do-not-mess-with-this-shinigami scowl.

He knew which one he was facing now.

"Kon! Inoue's in trouble! Run outside like something's happened, then stay out of sight of my family until I find you again. And for the love of all that's holy, try to act like ME for once!"

Without waiting for a reply, Ichigo jumped out his window and made a dash across rooftops for Inoue's apartment. He didn't worry about Kon doing what he said; even if it was for all the wrong, most disgusting reasons, Kon liked Inoue and wouldn't argue if it meant helping her.

And he didn't know why he was running around like a madman, he thought he'd be able to take unexpected turns like this after all he'd been through, but a feeling deep inside him said that something was gut-wrenchingly _wrong._

He never ran across those rooftops so fast.

Soon he was close enough to feel Inoue's reiatsu very faintly. She must be hurt, and that dark, sinister feeling of a Hollow was present too. It didn't feel particularly powerful, but if Ishida had to ask Ichigo, of all people, for help, then the situation must be bad.

A leap from the last rooftop brought him to a skidding halt in the street in front of Inoue's apartment. Ishida was there, looking up at the rooftop of the building.

"About time you got here, Kurosaki," Ishida muttered in greeting.

"Where's Inoue?" Ichigo demanded instead of getting into a fight with him. "Is she hurt somewhere?"

Ishida was silent as he looked down from the rooftop to Ichigo. What was in his eyes...it scared Ichigo. Proud, haughty Ishida looked shockingly desperate, though he would never say that.

"See for yourself," the Quincy whispered.

"Oh! It's Kurosaki-kun! Did you come to save me?"

That voice...

A cold shudder raced up and down Ichigo's spine at the sound of that voice. Of course it was familiar to him, in good and very bad ways. The tone, speech pattern and lilt were exactly that of Inoue Orihime's, but instead of happy, innocent sweetness coloring it, there was a sinister, deceptive sound to it. It sounded exactly like his own voice had sounded coming out of the mouth of the thing inside of his soul. Exactly like the voice of a Hollow.

The dread he felt before came roaring back as he very slowly looked up at the top of Inoue's apartment building, where Ishida had once again returned his sight.

There, sitting perched on the pointed rooftop, lit glowingly by the moon, was a petite figure with small things flying around her.


	2. Chapter 2

She was sitting there on the peak of the roof, her legs crossed. Her whole body was changed now; armored and predatory. Her arms were longer and ended in elegant claws. Three pairs of gossamer wings came from her back, making her look disturbingly fairy-like. Her mask came from her forehead into a point over her nose, bone-white plates covering her cheeks, mouth and chin. On either side of her head were six pronged fans in larger, sinister versions of her hairpins. Her hair, bright as ever, floated gently behind her in the light breeze.

"I...Inoue?" Ichigo gasped in horror. "What...what happened?"

She laughed, that horrible, twisted imitation of her familiar laugh. "Kurosaki-kun, do you remember my brother?"  
As if it hadn't made a home inside him already, horror seemed to seep into his bones and turned them to ice. The Hollow he had failed to defeat. Repelled, yes, and protected Inoue that night, but he had failed to defeat him to _really _protect her.

But Inoue continued to talk, telling her story in that mockingly cheerful voice. "Nii-san has missed me so much, he didn't know where I was. But he was here to visit me when I got back."

Rukia's words came rushing back. _Hollows are created when pluses are neglected or when another hollow eats their soul._

Then suddenly Ichigo and Ishida both could feel that condensing of evil spiritual pressure behind them. Turning to the side, they could see the Hollow coming out of its dark portal while still keeping an eye on Inoue. And it was him, the Hollow labeled as "Acid Wire." Or Inoue Sora.

"You won't keep her from me anymore, shinigami," he growled out. "Orihime is _mine _now!"

Ichigo automatically grabbed Zangetsu's hilt in response to the threat, but Inoue's voice rang out.

"Nii-san, that's not very nice to Kurosaki-kun. Will you say you're sorry?" she asked sweetly.

"What?" he growled out, now somewhat confused.

"Hm, I guess not," she cocked her head as she said this. "And besides, do you remember, Kurosaki-kun? I only belong to myself!" She turned her head toward Ichigo then and if she weren't wearing that _mask_, he knew she'd be smiling at him. The idea made him sick.

"Say good-bye, Nii-san!"

"What?"

Ichigo and Ishida didn't say anything out loud, but they were thinking the same thing. What was she planning?

With a flick of two long, elegant claws, the small figures that had been flying around Inoue, somewhat lazily, suddenly sped away from her, much too fast to be seen. Ichigo tensed, but it was from beside him that he heard the scream of pain. They were attacking Acid Wire, seeming to eat away at him, even. Now slowed down, Ichigo could see that they looked like fairies. No longer brightly-colored and pleasant, like her Shun Shun Rikka, but these had gone the way of Inoue; armored, thin, and far more deadly. And there were more than just six. It seemed like a whole swarm was attacking the Hollow that had once been Inoue's brother. It was a short time, but soon he was taken care of and there was no evidence of the Hollow that once was.

"That..." Ishida started, but he couldn't seem to finish. He had a disgusted look on his face, and Ichigo was sure that his own mirrored it. Inoue had just..._eaten _her brother? Or at least, ordered her fairies to. Turning back to face her directly now, as there was no longer a threat other than her, they could see her placing a delicate claw over her stomach.

"Oh my! That felt very good!" she exclaimed, surprised. "I didn't know that would happen! I even feel a little stronger now!"

"So not only eating human souls, but also other Hollows makes them stronger?" Ichigo said quietly.

"It appears so," Ishida answered. And he couldn't help but wonder if the shinigami of Soul Society knew this.

"I didn't know either! I'm glad I found out, though!" Inoue said brightly. "Now then..." she saw them tense up, because she laughed again, and then her wings buzzed and she lifted off of the roof. Ishida and Ichigo both saw the fairies flash around them in the moonlight, but before either could put up their defense, they flashed at them and suddenly, neither could move.

"My shields have changed a bit," she...the Hollow said with a pleasant voice. "I can do much more now. Including this," and with another flash of the fairies, around her body this time, the Hollow vanished from view.

"I wonder, Kurosaki-kun," her voice said behind him, much closer. He stiffened as much as he could inside her shield, but even still, he wished he could move Zangetsu's comforting weight in some way to fight. But even if he could, could he really use it against her? Against Inoue? Then he felt her put her hands on his shoulders before sliding her arms around his neck. "Could I get my heart back..." one of her invisible hands trailed down his chest until her fingertips were touching right above his own heart. "...if I ate yours? Because you know-" Ichigo could feel her bone-hard mask touching his neck and ear as she whispered to him. "-I gave it to you a long time ago."

Then, for whatever reason, her invisibility shield flickered and Ichigo could see the unearthly claw touching his chest.

_This is NOT Inoue!_

His reiatsu flared out suddenly, pushing against the shield that held him immobile. She was stronger than before, but maybe not strong enough...

"Whoops!" the Hollow suddenly unwrapped her arms from around him and he could feel her jump further away. "Sorry Kurosaki-kun, but I can't play with you tonight. You've always been just so strong, that I know I can't fight you yet. I just don't want you to forget me, 'kay?"

He could move again and instantly spun around to where her voice was coming from. The last glimpse he caught of her before she faded into the black portal in reality was that horrible mask again, and the wave of her claw in a sickening imitation of the farewell he had grown so accustomed to. Had taken for _granted_. And then she was gone inside the blackness, the fuzzy circular portal dissipating just as quickly.


	3. Chapter 3

Ichigo could only stand and stare. His hand slipped from Zangetsu's hilt, having never drawn the blade. His brain refused to function, to assimilate the scenario that had just unfolded before him. He just stood there, useless and confused, but he could feel the break coming. Something had to happen, be it a phone ringing in one of the surrounding apartments, a car coming around the corner or even a meteor falling out of the sky to crush him, but when that something happened, Ichigo would break.

Behind him, Ishida swore quietly and that was that.

Whirling around, Ichigo grabbed the Quincy by the front of his perfectly white shirt.

"Why didn't you do anything?! You could have taken care of this before I even got here!"

"'Taken care of this'?" Ishida quoted back to him, getting angry. "Meaning what? Kill her? Kill Inoue-san so you wouldn't have to face her? If I shot her then she would be gone!"

That made Ichigo freeze, but Ishida kept talking. "I obliterate Hollows, remember? You're the only one that can send her safely to Soul Society! Why do you think I called you here in the first place?! Why didn't _you_ do anything, _shinigami?"_ The sharp emphasis on the name served to remind Ichigo just what his _job _was. Ishida's hard blue eyes, not hidden by a glare on his glasses this time, bored into his, but surprisingly, there was no hostility. He was angry, yes, but only angry with himself.

They both were.

Another friend, another comrade, _nakama_, taken. And this time, there was absolutely nothing they could do to save her except...except for Ichigo to kill her. Or wait until some other shinigami caught up with her to finish her off. But he couldn't wimp out like that and make it someone else's problem. HIS friend, HIS failure, HIS burden.

Ichigo's hand fell and Ishida stiffly straightened out his shirt.

"So what now?" the young soul-reaper asked in a dead voice. "Follow her to the Hollow place and kill her there? _I _kill her there?"

"Hueco Mundo," Ishida corrected dully. "And no. I think right now we should call the police." When Ichigo looked at him confused, he explained. "Inoue-san's...body must still be in her apartment. She's dead to the real world now." His voice had gone ridged, business-like and emotionless; he was dealing with the situation in the best way he knew how. People might think he's heartless, moving on to the practical stuff and pushing his emotions aside, but at that moment, Ichigo envied him. "If your body is nearby, I suggest you get into it."

"Oh yeah, Kon," Ichigo automatically looked around, even though the Mod Soul shouldn't be near. But to his surprise, he saw himself staring back at him from around a corner down the block. Now found out, Kon walked out and slowly approached them; the visible representation of what the two boys couldn't show. His eyes were wide and his mouth slightly slack in horror, his feet shuffling on the pavement and all his superhuman strength gone out of his legs. "Inoue-san..."

"Yeah, Kon, sorry," Ichigo mumbled. In the same motion he had performed not an hour earlier, he used his badge to knock out the green pill before stepping back into his body. Picking up the Mod Soul, he put it in his pocket without a word. Ishida was already walking up the steps to Inoue's apartment and knocked on the door out of cursory habit. Obviously, there was no answer from the inside, so he put his hand on the knob and walked in.

"So trusting," Ichigo heard him mutter. It seemed surreal to Ichigo, going up those steps and fully expecting what he'd find inside, but not prepared for it in the least. Standing in the doorway, he saw Ishida walk straight through the simply furnished room to the kitchen where Inoue kept her phone. But Ichigo stayed in the front room where he found the girl with the orange hair sprawled sideways on the couch.

Kneeling down in front of her, he pushed her hair out of her face, so that he could see.

"I don't think we should-"

"Shut up!" Ichigo snapped, cutting him off. "I _refuse_ to let that MASK be the last memory I have of Inoue." That said, the boy slowly turned his head to the side until he was even with Orihime's angle. A gentle hand slid her eyelids closed, her gray eyes having seen their last, at the hand of her own _brother..._

While looking at her face, so peaceful and calm now, Ichigo carefully rewrote the memory of his encounter with the Hollow with memories of how she used to be. Happy, cheerful, frequently random, yet so determined. He remembered the gentle feel of her healing reiatsu. But then the memory of her voice shifted and mutated, echoing hollowly from behind a mask.

_"I gave it to you a long time ago."_

His fist clenched involuntarily.

"The police are on their way," Ishida's voice came from behind him. "Just so you know, they'll want to question us about how we found her..." His voice seemed to go fuzzy to part of Ichigo's brain, while the other part heard every word about alibis, following his lead and even possibly murder.

But she _was_ murdered. By someone the police will never catch with a weapon they'll never trace. Her soul was forced out of her body, the Chain of Fate shattered and ripped from her chest. What would the autopsy make of a healthy fifteen-year-old body with no apparent blemish or cause of death?


	4. Chapter 4

The priest began reading the sutra in his nasally voice after he had lit the incense. At a signal from him, Inoue's relatives stood up to do their part.

Ichigo didn't think much of them, her relatives. He had wondered if someone had paid for Inoue to live alone the way she did, and without a job of her own, and it seemed like these were the ones. They had waltzed in from wherever they came from and took over the funeral preparations, stating that it "was only right." Only right? Only right to let a young girl live by herself since her older brother died? Since she was twelve? Only right to just have contact with her in the form of a monthly check? Only right to not know _anything _about her, even in the end?

Ichigo had to grit his teeth to keep from making any noise amidst this quiet assembly. Another glance around the room revealed the people come to mourn Inoue's passing. Besides her family, sparse as it was, there were a lot of people from school, which really had been expected. Orihime had been sweet, smart, outgoing and very noticeable, so even if she hadn't known them all, she was known by many. Some were the group of girls she used to eat lunch with - Chizuru had been beside herself with grief when she had heard the news - Mizuiro and Keigo, the latter barely containing himself with sniffles. It seemed like a number of members from the handicrafts club had made an appearance as well.

Ishida and Chad were there too, the huge boy sitting beside Ichigo and the Quincy just beyond him. Chad had been told what had happened and he, in his own quiet way, reaffirmed his agreement with Ichigo, to watch his back, even if it were against a friend. Once the confusion with the police that night was over, Ishida hadn't really said anything more, becoming more withdrawn and taciturn than usual. Ichigo's family had opted to come as well, if only for moral support. And then there were a few faces that seemed strange to everyone except the ones that _really _knew Orihime.

Looking at Rukia, her head bowed, with Renji towering over her even as he knelt, Ichigo couldn't help but remember when he had seen her again, so soon after leaving her in Soul Society.

_Lying awake in bed, it was a wonder that Ichigo didn't feel, or hear, the approach of the two shinigami. That is, not until the smaller one had thrown open his window and grabbed his shirt in seemingly the same fraction of a second._

_"Tell me what happened!" she demanded, her wide violet eyes inches from his brown ones. Truthfully, she looked like a mess. She was breathing hard and her face was flushed, hair somewhat in disarray, but her eyes were wide and red around the edges, heralding unshed tears._

_Ichigo had to look away. "She...when we got back, Inoue went home, just like the rest of us. But her brother, that Hollow from a while back, he was waiting for her to get back when he...he attacked her." Closing his eyes, he said the last part as if in physical pain. "She's a Hollow now."_

_Rukia's grip went slack on his shirt as she stared in horrified silence into the air above Ichigo's head as she knelt on his bed, seeing some specter that no one else could perceive._

_"Not...again..." she murmured. Just a second more is all the silence lasted before she focused on Ichigo again, rage supplanting every other emotion. "WHY?!_ WHY?!_"She didn't seem to know herself as she started to flail her fists, and Ichigo would have let her, had not his other visitor reached out to grab her little fists._

_She whipped her head to look at Renji, still crouched on the window sill, tears finally showing at the edges of her eyes, but all he could do was look at her sadly. "Calm down, Rukia," he said quietly._

_The look of anguish on her face seared the heart, but the threatening tears did not fall. All she could do was look at her childhood friend and whisper quietly, "It happened again...Kaien-dono...Inoue..."_

_With a solemn voice, Renji turned to Ichigo and explained, "Soul Society received word that Inoue Orihime had been killed soon after her return to the material world. It took us a while to receive permission to cross the senkai gate to confirm that for ourselves, but Rukia wouldn't have it any other way. I came to make sure that there weren't larger forces at work." And thought he didn't say it, Ichigo knew that even without that excuse to come, Renji would have come anyway, if only to support Rukia._

_"Will there-" she took in a shuddering breath, then composed herself, looking steadfastly at the wall. "Will there be a proper service for her?"_

_Ichigo nodded. "Yeah. Her relatives came and started working out the details of it..."_

_"Just tell me the time, and I'll borrow a gigai from Urahara," she said quietly._

_"_We'll_ borrow gigais," Renji corrected and Rukia looked at him with grateful eyes._

And so even though the redhead had barely known Inoue, Ichigo was still glad that he had come.

A couple more strange additions to the gathering were Sandal-Hat himself and Yoruichi. They had slipped into the back, last and quietly, hoping not to attract attention. Ichigo almost hadn't recognized Urahara without the striped hat and wearing a black kimono instead of his regular clothes, Yoruichi in a similar black kimono. Prone as the pair was to attracting attention, they seemed to have gone to considerable lengths to be subdued and respectful, in honor of the human girl they had helped train.

Kon had even been allowed to come, under the solemn promise that he wouldn't say a single word. And so he was acting as silent as the stuffed animal very much should be, hiding on the inside of Ichigo's suit coat.

But the one single face that should have been there, by all rights as the real person closest to family Inoue ever had, was missing.

Tatsuki had absolutely refused to come, point-blank.

_"I'm telling you she isn't dead!"_

Ichigo flinched at the remembered sound of her voice.

_"Ichigo!"_

_Probably the first thing to register in his mind since the police were called, Ichigo turned to the sound of his name being called. Tatsuki was running flat-out down the street towards Inoue's apartment. She'd obviously seen the emergency vehicles, so there was a look of panic on her face. She'd approached from where the police weren't blocking the spectators, so she got through the yellow tape unnoticed. When she reached him, she was still looking around at the mess._

_"I got a bad feeling, so I came to check on Orihime." Finally, after taking in the whole scene, she looked Ichigo dead in the eyes. "What happened?"_

_Ichigo blanched at the thought of having to tell Tatsuki, but she of all people deserved to be told, at least as much as he could. But really, the weak alibi Ishida had given the cops just wouldn't work with Tatsuki. She knew them all too well. Nor could he say anything about the Hollows. So then, what could he say...?_

_"I'm sorry, Tatsuki. Inoue...she's gone."_

_The martial artist looked like she had been hit with an electric shock. But then just as quickly, she shook her head in denial. "That's a lie." Facing him once more, she stated without any room for confusion, "That's a lie. Orihime isn't dead."_

I didn't say "dead" _Ichigo thought to himself. But out loud, he repeated, "She is, though. She's gone, Tatsuki."_

_"No, that can't be true!" she denied again, but at that moment, there was movement at the open door of Orihime's apartment. Ichigo had been standing on the sidewalk with his back to the apartment, so he didn't know at first what she was staring at, but he quickly turned around to see. Coming out of the door were two workers carrying a stretcher between them, covered over with a white cloth. Tatsuki's eyes were locked on the few bunches of long orange hair peeking out from underneath._

_"ORIHIME!"  
_

_Before, he might not have been able to stop her. Before, Tatsuki had been better at martial arts than he was. Had always been faster than he had been. But Ichigo had been through a LOT since then and human body or no, Tatsuki was no longer a real opponent for him._

_Reaching out with reflexes much faster than they had been before, Ichigo grabbed her arm and kept her from running for that stretcher. Without even looking, she jerked her arm against his hold, but he kept firm._

_She tried again, eyes still on that bright orange hair. "Let me go Ichigo! I've got to-"_

_"You can't!" he shouted back at her. "It's too late!" Jerking her slightly, Ichigo pulled Tatsuki back from the scene and grabbed her shoulders to look her in the eye. "There's nothing you can do! It's too late!"_

_Some small, cynical part of him whispered that there was something HE could do, if he had the guts. Ichigo had the feeling that that small, cynical voice also had a chalky white resemblance to himself, but knowing that didn't make him feel any better._

_Tatsuki was looking at him now, finally looking away from the stretcher that had been loaded into the back of a police truck. She looked angry now as she said, "It's not too late! Orihime isn't dead!"_

_"Tatsuki-" Ichigo started, but was cut off._

_"I'm telling you she isn't dead!" she shrieked, head thrown down in earnest. But then, she slumped a little. "I've always felt her presence...whenever she's near..." At first, Ichigo had been holding her shoulders to keep her from running, but now it felt like he had to keep her from falling._

_"Tonight...it felt like she had come back from very far away. I was glad, but then...I got this horrible feeling. My parents wouldn't let me come right away, so...so I had to just _sit _there while it got worse! While I couldn't DO anything!"_

_Ichigo started to get really alarmed. Tatsuki's voice, it wasn't strong and assured anymore. It was starting to crack, like she was finally breaking, and he didn't know what to do to help. This girl that had always been so strong seemed to be meeting her limit._

_"That presence that I've always felt...it's not gone." Finally she looked up and Ichigo was shocked, really and truly shocked, to see her crying. "It's not gone!" she said again, grabbing his shirt to emphasize it. "So don't tell me..." She bowed her head again, seeming to wilt while at the same time tensing like a spring._

"So don't tell me she's DEAD!"_she screamed into his shirt, finally breaking at that last word. Clutching at his shirt, Tatsuki had to cling to Ichigo, seemingly the only solid thing to hold. Shamelessly, she wept, crying things like "feel her" and "not gone."_

_And all Ichigo could do was stand there and be that solid thing. It was awkward at first, but he continued to hold her shoulders, comfortingly this time. Whispering quietly, maybe she heard him and maybe she didn't over her own hysterical sobbing, he said, "Alright Tatsuki. You're right, she's not gone." Looking up away from her, he happened to meet the eyes of Ishida, standing meters away, but still seeming to know exactly what was happening._

_Ichigo said it again. "Inoue's not gone."_


	5. Chapter 5

It was Ichigo's turn now. Standing up, he made his way to the front of the room to the incense urn where he bowed, probably lower than anyone else had before him, but he didn't think he could grovel on the floor and be too low. Not in honor of this girl whose life he had so taken for granted, had completely _ruined _because of his own idiocy. No, he could not bow too low for her.

Lit incense and another low bow later, Ichigo was back to kneeling on his cushion, his little part in the ceremony almost ludicrously short, compared to the part he played in _getting _all these people there at this time. That was a thought he couldn't rid himself of; that thought of guilt and responsibility.

Back into that haze of indifference, Isshin had to grab the back of Ichigo's head to force him into a bow when the priest finished reading the sutra. Ichigo didn't even care to fight back.

Finally free of the service, Ichigo stood up and practically led the way out of the room. Completely ignoring the gift at the door, he didn't want anything from this family that didn't know anything about Inoue, nor did he want their thanks for coming. It was truly the least he could do and he really didn't care how rude he was acting.

Leaving the funeral hall with the crowd of other guests, he almost missed it in the shuffle. That feeling of being watched. Of being watched by something sinister. Trying not to alarm his family, Ichigo carefully looked around for a pair of eyes watching him. Nothing was apparent at first, but was that something in the tree...?

He focused on it, in case it had reiatsu, but no luck.

"What is it, Ichi-nii?" Yuzu asked, concerned.

Squinting up into the tree branches didn't help at all, so he just shook his head, saying, "Nothing. I thought I saw a ghost."

"A ghost? Here?!" Isshin exclaimed, acting terrified.

Karin punched him, saying with much annoyance, "It's a funeral hall, of course there'll be ghosts, idiot!"

For the sake of those around him, Ichigo shook off that feeling and stared walking toward their car. That feeling followed him for a moment more before disappearing. What did that mean? But he really couldn't dwell on that for long. Somewhere inside him, the soldier that he had not known existed was telling him that while that battle was not over and he would have his chance again, he didn't have the luxury to keep brooding over it. Something was going to come, something _always _came, and he had to be ready for it.

So with the firmness of his unwavering conviction and resolve, Ichigo swore to himself that he would _not_ forget Inoue and he _would _save her some day.

.oOo.

She sat on an outcropping of rock, one of the few in Hueco Mundo, as the rest had been worn down to sand. There were a few Hollow corpses strewn about her, some of her fairies still nibbling on them.

It was amazing, really, how much stronger she felt after just these few cretins. Before, she had thought that Hollows only fed on human souls, but maybe those were just the ones that were too weak to feed on other Hollows. Because as delicious as Kurosaki-kun had smelled, there really weren't enough humans like him to sustain her for long. Even Ishida-san, he had seemed so weak that he had not smelled appealing at all. She wondered absently why he seemed so weak in the first place. He had been so strong back in Soul Society...

He must have lost his powers somehow, she finally concluded. It was so like Ishida-san to not say anything about that, even before they had all made it home.

These Hollows around her, on the other hand, weak as they were, they had still been more filling. She could already feel stronger and she even had more fairies flying around her than before. She must be getting new ones the stronger she got, and since for every Hollow her fairies ate she could feel her power grow, then the more fairies she gained, the faster she would grow. But still...she wanted to find stronger prey, to become stronger herself. To see Kurosaki-kun again...

There was a blink of black in the distortion of dimensional fabric, and then her scout fairy was back. It flitted to her hand, but even just being in the same world gave the Hollow access to its memories.

"Ah, look at all the people that went to my funeral. Did I even know that many? Poor Chizuru-chan, she looks so sad. And Kurosaki-kun looks even gloomier than usual." She let the memories play in her mind for a few minutes more, watching her mourners as they left the funeral hall before something occurred to her.

"...where's Tatsuki-chan?"

.oOo.

**Okay everyone, to be perfectly honest, this is all that I had written for the story before. I have bits and pieces of ideas of what I'd like to do with it and where I'd like to take it, but I'm afraid I must warn you not to have your hopes up too high. I'd like to keep up with weekly updates, but I can't guarantee that'll be a sure thing since I don't know where I'm gonna go. I guess I'll just have to sit down and write and see where it takes me!**


	6. Chapter 6

**This is my first new chapter for this story in quite a while! Let's see where it goes! I'm honestly not sure.**

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To say that Tatsuki was restless would be a tremendous understatement. It was more like she was vibrating within her very skin. Her parents looked on with a mixture of sympathy and disapproval. They couldn't understand why she had adamantly refused to attend her friend's funeral service. They couldn't understand because Tatsuki couldn't seem to explain to him how she KNEW that Orihime wasn't dead.

But where exactly she was, Tatsuki couldn't tell. It was strange, that sense she had always had of the happy girl was still there, but changed. It was still there, but distant. Still there, but blocked.

Pacing didn't help at all. Tatsuki was a martial artist and when she needed to move, when restless energy rattled her bones, just walking to and fro did absolutely nothing. Finally she couldn't help herself and grabbed a light jacket before darting out the door, shouting that she was going for a run. Too bad it was too late in the evening for her dojo to still be open. She would have been very happy to beat something - _anything! - _ into a meaningless pulp, be they living or dummy. So she hit the pavement outside her home at a jog, which didn't last long; soon she was picking up her pace until she was sprinting, and then she was flat-out running for all she was worth.

Tatsuki wanted to feel the pain of pushing herself hard. Wanted to feel the ache in her feet as they slammed onto concrete, then maybe the ache in her head wouldn't seem so bad. Wanted to feel the burn in her legs and lungs, then maybe the burn of her eyes would go away. Wanted to feel a sharp stitch in her side, so maybe her heart wouldn't feel like it was stabbed through. She was gasping, but was she really out of breath? Sweat ran off her forehead and into her eyes, but was it sweat that came back out?

She had absolutely no idea how long she had been running for, but it wasn't helping, everything she saw, heard and felt just kept reminding her of Orihime. Neon lights the color of her hair, ice cream shops with all the flavors, the noise of the wind sounding like an echo of her voice-

_Tatsuki-chan!_

Her eyes went wide and she tried to stop so hard and fast that she literally had to grab onto a telephone pole to stop her momentum and keep from falling over. That was NOT her imagination!

_"Tatsuki-chan!"_

Her head whipped around, looking, _looking_ for the source of that haunting cry. Because while she knew it was Orihime's voice, it had a weird, watery echo sound to it. But as she stood there and gasped for breath, she saw nothing. Nothing on the deserted street to give away the source of noise that had stopped her in her tracks.

Then she felt like she had been kicked in the chest. That _feeling_ that was totally Orihime, the feeling that had been distant but not lost came ripping back and pressed on her from all sides. It was Orihime, Tatsuki had no doubt about that, but there was also something frighteningly wrong about it. Orihime was bright, bubbly, happy and a little crazy. The pressure that weighed down on her shoulders was definitely a little crazy, with plenty of energy to it, but instead of bright it felt…manic. And while the feeling may have been a kind of happy, there was no _joy._

_"Over here, Tatsuki-chan!"_

The voice had direction, now, and she turned and sprinted toward it, regardless of the consequences. Something felt really and terribly wrong, but she would come to Orihime's rescue 'til her dying day.

The voice kept cooing to her, leading Tatsuki on until she was ducking through trees in a city park to come out into an open clearing. Something was zipping through the air within the circle of trees. Much too large to be insects, but too sleek to be any kind of bird that she had ever seen. Something about them stirred a memory…

_Windows exploding, students crowding them, Chizuru attacking…_

"So you can see them!"

The voice, the Orihime-but-not voice, was behind her and Tatsuki whirled around, her expression a painful mix of fear and desperate hope.

The fan of brilliant orange hair was the only thing familiar before her. It was wafted on a constant breeze, generated by the gossamer wings buzzing behind the figure. Her body was vaguely huminoid, but her arms were much too long, ending in long, elegant claws that were much too big. Her torso and legs were thin and oddly featureless, armored over in plates and with none of Orihime's exaggerated curves. And her face…covered with bone-white plates, the eye holes large with glowing red within and six-pronged fans sweeping over her temples and pushing back her hair. She kept speaking.

"I was afraid that I wouldn't get to talk to you if you couldn't see me, but I guess you've spent so much time with Kurosaki-kun that it rubbed off on you, just like me!"

"Wait, Ichigo? What does he have to do with anything? And what rubbed off on me?" Tatsuki asked frantically, staring at the white creature before her as if afraid she would become that as well.

"Oh, not this!" Orihime delicately scratched the surface of the mask with her claws. "This was a gift from my brother. But you can see me! That's what Kurosaki-kuns gift to you was. And it's not even Christmas! I wonder what he'll give you when Christmas comes around, if spiritual powers like this are just kind of an every day thing?"

Tatsuki was pained, staring at her friend, _knowing_ it had to be her, with that laughing sound in her voice, the randomness of her thoughts. "Orihime…what happened to you? They said you died…" It killed her to say that, but she had to know! She was right, Orihime was right _here_, just not the same.

Orihime cocked her head to one side, looking so much like a bird, which only seemed to fit with the wings she hovered upon. She seemed to think on what to say.

"What happened? I don't need your protection anymore, Tatsuki-chan." It felt like a slap in the face, and she couldn't help but stumble backwards a couple of steps. The things that had been lazily flitting about them seemed to grow agitated, moving in quicker, sharper motions. Orihime saw the pain in her face though, and drifted lower, coming closer to Tatsuki so their eyes were level. "I'm strong now, but I'm alone. Will you come with me, Tatsuki-chan? I can make you even stronger, too! Then we can fight together!"

The dark-haired girl furrowed her brow. Orihime that _wanted_ to fight? "Fight who?" she dared ask.

No watery-echo voice came from the mask, a bright streak of light cutting between them, blasting both girls backwards. Tatsuki hit the ground and Orihime flew higher, the flying creatures really buzzing around, some too fast to be seen. Both looked to the side where the energy had come from. Who would dare attack Orihime?! No matter what she said about being strong, Tatsuki would _never_ let anyone hurt her!

And she couldn't believe her eyes.

Standing there, dressed in black and scowling (big surprise) grimly, was Kurosaki Ichigo, a giant sword hefted over his shoulder.


End file.
